A Cha-Cha for the Fugitive
Release year: 1997
Country:  Taiwan

A bisexual artist is waiting to move to New York City to be with his male lover while living with his girlfriend in a sumptuous loft in Taipei. The landscapes and locations are intriguing, particularly at a Rave where performance artists are hauled away by government agents for sarcastically asking for socialism to come to Taiwan. The bright lights and monitors on the floor of the rave space are pretty but the film does not hold together.

Have Not Seen

 

 

 

Addicted To Love
Release year:
Country:  Japan

Features a script by Koichi Imaizumi (Habakari Tenshi (Angel In The Toilet)), screened previously at the 8th TLGFF), exquisite cinematography, and a realistic picture of lovesick youth interwoven with clever dialogue that will strike a chord with everyone.

Have Not Seen

 

 
The Accident
Release year: 1999
Country:  Hong Kong

A down-and-out adult movie actress, a tour guide who is forever in love, a girl who misses her boyfriend, a middle-aged airplane pilot, a wandering gay boy from the mainland, and a gay taxi driver, all their lives altered by the same train accident which leads to a series of passionate episodes.

Incred-A-Bowl

 

 

An Actor's Revenge
Release year: 1963
Country:  Japan

A female impersonator in a kabuki troupe vows revenge on the organized crime family who years before drove his parents to suicide.

Have Not Seen

 

After Raining + Jumping Jet Flash
Release year:
Country:  Taiwan

A collection of two shorts by one of the most outstanding young direcotors in Taiwan, Andrew Yang. After Raining is intriguing mix of story and documentary. On the one hand it narrates an engaging love story between two males adolescents, but at the same time it interlaces five radio interview with gays, lesbians and a worried mother. In this way, the film offers a comprehensive picture of the life of Taiwanese gay teenagers. Jumping Jet Flash is the story of his blood test for HIV. At the same time, he reflects upon his life of dissipation and debauchery before making the decision.

Have Not Seen

 

 

Ai No Kusabi OVA 1
Release year:
Country:  Japan

Ai no Kusabi (Wedge of Interval) the anime is based on the novel written by Rieko Yoshihara. The story was serialized in a reputable Japanese shounen ai magazine, Shousetsu June. It was then slightly reedited by the author and has been published as a hardcover book since 1990. Ai no Kusabi is set in a futuristic world, where human beings live on another planet. In this planet, people are ranked according to their hair colour, from the lowest to the highest privileged group: black, red, blue/green, silver, blonde. For more details, read Background found at our site. The animation of Ai no Kusabi is different from the novel in several aspects. Because it made on the assumption that you already have knowledge of the basic information, the story mainly focuses on the love and conflict between 3 main characters, Iason Mink, Riki and Guy.

Have Not Seen

 

All Night Long 2 
Release year: 1994
Country: Japan

During his school summer holiday break, Shinichi is pestered by a gang of homosexual thugs who specialize in rape and murder. Things quickly turn from bad to worse, until the final confrontation between Shinichi and the leader of the gang ends in a bloodbath of epic proportions.

Have Not Seen

 

And the Band Played On 
Release year: 1993
Country: USA

Made-for-cable, star-studded drama traces efforts by poorly funded scientific team that discovered the AIDS virus. This compelling, hard-hitting film is recommended for drama fans who appreciate historically significant, true-life stories.

Defend-A-Bowl

 

 

Angushed Love  
Release year: 1987
Country: Thailand

Anguished Love begins with the funeral of Somying Daorai, who killed himself at the end of The Last Song when his lover, Boontherm, went straight. Boontherm, now living with his ex-lesbian wife, appears at the funeral, enraging Somying's drag queen friends, who vow revenge. As luck would have it, Somying has a twin brother, who is brought in to plot Boontherm's demise. Unfortunately for the vengeful drag queens, Somnuek (Somying #2) is just as susceptible to Boon's charms as Somying #1 and quickly falls in love with his brother's ex. Meanwhile, the ex-lesbian wife, Orn, is about to suffer another of the lapses that so enraged her mother in the end of The Last Song. She consults with a few of her girlfriends (at what may be the first Thai lesbian potluck ever filmed) and somehow tracks down her ex-girlfriend Praew, who since having lost Orn has been living as a semi-lunatic in a "smelly" part of town. Alongside all of this is a subplot about a pudgy gay aristocrat who on a whim borrows money from his lesbian sister to purchase the Tiffany Club, where Somying formerly sang, a sort of Drag Queen Central in Pattaya. The club owner was the Bangkok Post reviewer's favorite: " Easily the most delightful character . . . his tantrums are hilarious . . . his promiscuity is both rollicking fun and a satirical view of the gay lifestyle. He likes every good-looking boy in sight. He wears several rings to give away to new partners and is always loaded with cash in the event he has to buy off other men to take their boyfriends away from them. What a character!" As before, we must warn that the subtitling is occasionally problematic. Prepare to be lost now and again, but in between enjoy the les/gay fun.

Have Not Seen

 

We hope you have found the Long Yang - Denver's
Queer Asian Cinema
informative.  If you know of a film with a gay Asian character that is still available to rent or buy, please drop us an e-mail and tell us about it so we can add it to our list.